El Bajo del Monstruo, Malpelo

Verified2026-09-30 checkedPelagicWallDrift

A bare rock 500 km off Colombia, and hammerhead schools measured in the hundreds.

Depth: 20–40 m66–131 ft
Difficulty: Technical
Entry: Liveaboard
Typical current: Extreme
Coordinates: 4°0.066′N 81°36.414′W
Activities: Scuba · Technical

Malpelo is a sanctuary the size of Switzerland around a rock with nothing on it, and the diving is entirely about what the open Pacific brings past. Scalloped hammerheads school here in numbers that are counted rather than described — several hundred is an ordinary day at El Bajo — with silky sharks above and Galapagos sharks on the wall. It is a hard place to dive: no shelter, strong and unpredictable current, depth, surge, and a 36-hour crossing from Buenaventura each way. Experience is checked, not asked about.

Liveaboard from Buenaventura, Colombia — around 36 hours each way. Permits are limited and booked far ahead.

Best season

ExcellentJan–Mar
GoodJun–Aug
FairSep–Dec
FairApr–May

Before you get in

Past 30 m, where no-stop time and gas both go quickly and nitrogen narcosis starts to show.
A wall. There is no bottom in sight to judge against, so depth is kept by the gauge alone — and it is easy to end up deeper than intended.
Recorded as a site with strong current. Settle your gas reserve, when you would call the dive, and your surface signal before you get in.
A drift dive: you do not come back to where you went in, so boat pickup and an SMB are part of the plan rather than extras.
Graded technical — it assumes equipment and procedures outside recreational training.

Taken from this site’s recorded depth, type and current, and nothing else. An empty list is not a safe site — the sea on the day, the local geography and the boat traffic are not in it. The briefing on the spot comes first.

Conditions

Water temperature: 30.2°C86°F
Wave height: 1.4 m5 ft
Air temperature: 27.4°C81°F
Wind speed: 5.5 km/h3.4 mph

Updated 2026-10-07 16:15 UTC · Source: Open-Meteo

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Conditions are reported for information only. Assess the site yourself and follow your guide and your training.

No live conditions for this site yet.

We only show numbers we can attribute to a source.

Sea state and tide

On a date

Tide · 10/7

Low06:27-0.34 m
High12:361.67 m
Low18:49-0.46 m

Forecast heights against mean sea level. Real tides in a bay, a harbour or over a flat can differ — check an official tide table before you get in.

Pick a day to see its tide

Only wave height and wind are scored, because those are what close a boat ramp or a shore entry. Water temperature is reported and never scored: 12°C is an ordinary dive in a drysuit and punishing in a 3 mm, and a number that cannot see your suit has no business marking it down. Stars do not decide whether you get in — you and your guide do, on the day.

Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)

Marine life you may see

Scalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniCommon
Silky sharkCarcharhinus falciformisCommon
Galapagos sharkCarcharhinus galapagensisCommon
Whale sharkRhincodon typusJun–AugSeasonal
Bigeye trevallyCaranx sexfasciatusCommon
Yellowfin tunaThunnus albacaresCommon
Green turtleChelonia mydasSeasonal

From divers

What people who were in the water reported. Not a forecast, and not a judgement about whether the site is safe to dive.

No recent reports from divers. If you dived here in the last two weeks, you can say how it was.

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